Category: Entrepreneuria
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Intelligence, Advice, Investment and Politics
Yesterday I read a Seattle Times article about Paul Pillar, a former high-ranking CIA official who has raised important questions about the intelligence that was collected before and during the Iraq war, the advice that was given about this to the Bush administration, and the extent to which the intelligence advice was acted upon. This…
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Working with Angel Investors: It’s the Relationship, Stupid!
Susan Preston, Of Counsel at Davis, Wright, Tremaine, LLP, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, shared her insights and experiences on how entrepreneurs can build and maintain successful relationships with angel investors at yesterday’s Northwest Entrepreneur Network Venture Breakfast. Sue started out by presenting a number of statistics on angel and venture capital…
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Advisors: Personal and Professional, Imaginary and Real
Last week, my friend, Mary, sent me a fabulous article on how to assemble and use a personal board of advisors entitled "Looking Out for Number One", by Jim Collins, author of "Good to Great". The article tied in with a number of related themes from pieces I’ve been reading — and hearing — about…
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Howard Schultz on Passion, Perseverance and Partnership
I had a remarkable Starbucks Experience yesterday, which prompted me to go back and review my notes from Howard Schultz’s inspiring book “Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time” (co-authored with Dori Jones Yang). It reminded me of my intention to start posting more summaries of…
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Business is Good
Doug Rushkoff recently wrote an article for his Arthur Magazine column entitled "Business is Good" in which he articulates a very positive view of commerce, arguing that the problems with our current corporate culture are inherited rather than inherent, and inviting bizfolk to [re]orient themselves toward intentionality, integrity and passion. His title reminded me of…
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Everyone’s a Customer: The Importance of Empathy, Respect and Helpfulness
I increasingly see how a variety of roles in society might be viewed from a customer service (or customer care) perspective, and how all our interactions can be seen as manifestations of customer relationship management … and how we all might be better off if more members of society adopted this view, especially those in…
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Establishing a Fair Equity Allocation within a Startup Venture
A while back, when I was offered an exciting consulting engagement, I had to determine how to establish a fair consulting rate. I did a lot of research, found some excellent resources on the web, and posted some notes on an approach that I adapted to compute a rate that I considered to be fair…
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Passion, Knowledge and Wine
Phil Condit, former chairman of Boeing, and four groups of entrepreneurs gave presentations emphasizing — and exhibiting — passion and knowledge at an Executive Roundtable meeting of the Zino Society last night at The Rainier Club … then we all tasted some wine. It’s hard to imagine a more winning combination for a successful meeting!…
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eBay: I Think I Get It
I always go to the Northwest Entrepreneur Network (NWEN) Venture Breakfast Meetings; even when the topic doesn’t really excite me, I never fail to make or renew valuable connections with wonderful people during the earlybird networking. And, I am sometimes pleasantly surprised by a topic and/or speaker(s) being far more interesting than I expected, as…